So our President decided tonight was the night to make an attempt at doing more to address the issue of illegal immigration. But given the government’s previous actions of actually assisting the Mexican government, it was no surprise that the President’s response to this issue is woefully lacking. The “hype” for this speech was that President Bush would deploy troops to the border. Unfortunately, the President’s view of sending troops to the border falls short of my suggestion of sending 10,000 troops by executive order. In fact he proposed sending about half the number I suggested. And his efforts come 7 months after it would have been best politically timed to do it. When I suggested 10,000 troops as simply a good show, it was before the far Left staged protests and supporters of illegal immigration held massive boycotts and protests. It was also before they abused our National Anthem. Now the issue is politically far worse and everyone knows about 20,000-35,000 troops would be more appropriate. Also, those troops need more autonomy to defend the border, rather than being chaperoned.

So lets see what the President had to say. You can read the full text of his speech here. The President’s plan has 5 major points and I will cover those below.

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First, the United States must secure its borders.
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By the end of 2008, we will increase the number of Border Patrol officers by an additional 6,000. When these new agents are deployed, we will have more than doubled the size of the Border Patrol during my presidency.
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We will construct high-tech fences in urban corridors, and build new patrol roads and barriers in rural areas. We will employ motion sensors infrared cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles to prevent illegal crossings.
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Training thousands of new Border Patrol agents and bringing the most advanced technology to the border will take time. Yet the need to secure our border is urgent. So I am announcing several immediate steps to strengthen border enforcement during this period of transition:

One way to help during this transition is to use the National Guard. So in coordination with governors, up to 6,000 Guard members will be deployed to our southern border. The Border Patrol will remain in the lead.
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The United States is not going to militarize the southern border. Mexico is our neighbor, and our friend. We will continue to work cooperatively to improve security on both sides of the border, to confront common problems like drug trafficking and crime, and to reduce illegal immigration.

Another way to help during this period of transition is through state and local law enforcement in our border communities.
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He should have deployed more troops and militarized the border. While he’s doing more than many before him, this will not be close to enough to really put a stop to illegals coming into America from our southern border in massive numbers. More money and more technology is all good, but a “high tech” fence is not going to cut it and all this looks nice, but Americans can see through it all. Because it’s still too little too late. Still trying to keep Mexico happy, when Mexico is A-OK with illegal immigration into America, although Mexico fights illegal immigration much more vigorously than we do. We all know our government is still allowing illegal immigration in massive numbers and simply putting up a nice show.

When our troops on the border are shot at, will they be able to shoot back? Of course not. They will be ordered to stand down, because they will be under the border patrol, that is getting shot at all the time. This is not good. Our guys on the border should be able to defend themselves.

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Second, to secure our border, we must create a temporary worker program.
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Now do I really need to waste your time talking about the problems with this sort of amnesty program? The “temporary workers” won’t leave and it will simply encourage more illegal immigration. Because people planning to enter illegally see that nobody is seriously trying to stop them. They are being assisted and point #4 below shows that once they enter they will probably be allowed to stay.

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Third, we need to hold employers to account for the workers they hire. It is against the law to hire someone who is in this country illegally. Yet businesses often cannot verify the legal status of their employees, because of the widespread problem of document fraud. Therefore, comprehensive immigration reform must include a better system for verifying documents and work eligibility.
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1986 all over again! Talk of better enforcement and the hiring of illegals will continue.

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Fourth, we must face the reality that millions of illegal immigrants are already here. They should not be given an automatic path to citizenship. This is amnesty, and I oppose it. Amnesty would be unfair to those who are here lawfully and it would invite further waves of illegal immigration.

Some in this country argue that the solution is to deport every illegal immigrant and that any proposal short of this amounts to amnesty. I disagree. It is neither wise nor realistic to round up millions of people, many with deep roots in the United States, and send them across the border. There is a rational middle ground between granting an automatic path to citizenship for every illegal immigrant, and a program of mass deportation. That middle ground recognizes that there are differences between an illegal immigrant who crossed the border recently and someone who has worked here for many years, and has a home, a family, and an otherwise clean record. I believe that illegal immigrants who have roots in our country and want to stay should have to pay a meaningful penalty for breaking the law to pay their taxes to learn English and to work in a job for a number of years. People who meet these conditions should be able to apply for citizenship but approval would not be automatic, and they will have to wait in line behind those who played by the rules and followed the law. What I have just described is not amnesty it is a way for those who have broken the law to pay their debt to society, and demonstrate the character that makes a good citizen.
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Mr. President, what you described is an amnesty program! Illegals that got away with it some years back are getting amnesty. And we have no honest way of telling how long someone has been in this country. Set the bar at 5 years and illegals here 2 days will purchase documents that make it appear they’ve been here for 10 years. The bottom line is that illegals should not be given amnesty. It has failed once and it will only fail worse if implemented this time.

After all Mr. President, you said it yourself as part of the first point in your plan.

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When people know that they will be caught and sent home if they enter our country illegally, they will be less likely to try to sneak in.
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You can’t have it both ways and trying to do it both ways will not work. Which means you are simply going to continue the cycle of permitting illegal immigration, for the sake of some companies being able to prop themselves up on a labor force that upsets the nation’s job market.

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Fifth, we must honor the great American tradition of the melting pot, which has made us one Nation out of many peoples. The success of our country depends upon helping newcomers assimilate into our society, and embrace our common identity as Americans. Americans are bound together by our shared ideals, an appreciation of our history, respect for the flag we fly, and an ability to speak and write the English language. English is also the key to unlocking the opportunity of America. English allows newcomers to go from picking crops to opening a grocery from cleaning offices to running offices from a life of low- paying jobs to a diploma, a career, and a home of their own. When immigrants assimilate and advance in our society, they realize their dreams, they renew our spirit and they add to the unity of America.
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It would be nice if Hispanic immigrants continued to assimilate into our society. But where I live and in other areas many Hispanic immigrants are no longer trying to assimilate. Their children are allowed to be passed through school for years without knowing English. Many Hispanics have built full communities where English is the 2nd language. So in time less will see a need to assimilate. Mr. President your 5th point should have been to establish English as the official language of the United States of America. No more special accommodations for various languages. Encourage assimilation by full immersion.

The bottom line is that this plan from our President is a failure. But I guess it’s nice to know he cared enough to take some time to make a nice show of it. This plan will not “unite” the nation. And politicians who have been soft on illegal immigration are going to be out of a job.

Other Conservatives are also seeing straight through this speech from the President. Michelle Malkin calls it “Same Old, Same Old”.

Michael Savage was doing live speak over during the speech. Is this disrespectful to the office of the President? Of course, but we Conservatives always talk over Presidential speak that we are not buying.

Hear Michael Savage speaking over President Bush’s amnesty plan using the audio link below. (Point #4 in the speech.)
Michael Savage on Bush Amnesty Speech - WMA Audio
(For the sake of bandwidth there will be no other formats made.)

update 5/15/2006 11:58PM: Video of Michelle Malkin debating Bush’s speech with Bill O’Reilly is available at Hot Air.